Our DIY Wedding Programs

One of the things we were really passionate about in planning the wedding was that the details of the day reflected who we are and helped our guests get to know us a little bit better. You can read more about that thought process here. For us, that meant that biggest things down to even the littlest details told a bit of our story and gave glimpses into our lives. For instance, we had the wedding at the Chesapeake Bay because we both grew up spending a lot of time there, but even the “place cards” (rocks taken straight out of the river we swim and boat in) were a subtle nod to that.The food we chose included some of our favorite foods in “real life”.We even chose to forgo the usual champagne for the toast in exchange for a drink we’ve enjoyed on some of our favorite dates together… sparkling apple cider!

As you can tell, one of our priorities in planning the wedding was that it was personalized to feel like us, our story, and the things we love. We also wanted our guests to feel like they left our wedding knowing a little bit more about us than when they arrived. It goes without saying that not everyone who attends a wedding is going to know both the bride and groom closely. When you get into inviting childhood friends, friends of parents, extended family, etc. there is a greater chance that some people may not know (or have even met before!) the bride or groom all that well. We wanted each of our guests to feel better connected to us by the end of the party. We wanted them to truly feel like there are part of our story (because they are… no matter how distant the connection!).

One of the ways we chose to do this (and coincidentally, one of my favorite aspects of the wedding) was through our Ceremony program.

We’ve been to enough weddings to know that you do A LOT of waiting around. Waiting for the Ceremony to start, waiting for the couple to arrive at Cocktail Hour after their pictures, waiting for the food, waiting to dance (this one’s always the hardest for me). We thought the least we could do was to give our guests something to keep themselves entertained while they waited for the Ceremony to start.

For our programs, we went for the “tabbed” effect… with each tab containing a bit of information about the day, events to take place, etc. While our programs included the Ceremony order, they also had some “for fun” reading too. We collected a few fun facts about the Bridal Party and “introduced” our guests to who they would soon be seeing walking down the aisle. The last tab was a fun montage of facts about Mitch and I… silly things like secret talents and favorite things, but also sentimental things like how we first met and our first date.

I heard from so many people that they loved reading through them. Even people who know us really well said they learned something new. Mission accomplished! I know that picture is hard to read, so here is a list of the fun facts we used…

• Leslie and Mitch have been together for exactly 1,780 days today.
• They started dating on Nov. 6th of their Freshman Year.
• The couple had decided to wait until Mitch’s soccer season was over before dating. On Nov. 6, 2008, the EU Men’s Soccer Team was eliminated from the playoffs. This was the best day of Leslie’s Freshman Year.
• Mitch’s dream vacation is to go to Italy.
• Leslie’s nervous habit is biting her nails.
• First Date: Chili’s! 2 for $20
• Both Mitch and Leslie studied Youth Ministry at Eastern.
• Growing up with twin brothers, Leslie was always a third wheel. She was excited to bring Mitch home for the first time because she would finally have her own “playmate”. However, Mitch gets along so well with Beau and Clint that the family went from having twins to having triplets. Leslie is not longer a third wheel. She’s a fourth.
• Mitch’s favorite food is hot wings and Fettuccine Alfredo.
• Leslie’s favorite food is salmon and macaroni and cheese.
• Most of these foods will be featured in the menu today.
• The couple will be honeymooning in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
• Mitch proposed on November 9th as the couple celebrated four years together. He used a box of chocolates, removed the candies and substituted them with letters spelling “Marry Me, Leslie?”. She said Yes!
• Leslie never ended up getting any of the chocolates.
• The couple asked Leslie’s aunt and uncle to marry them- Aunt Jennie also married Leslie’s mom and dad. 
• Mitch taught himself how to play the guitar in his junior year of college.
• The bride and groom bought their first house on June 12, 2013 in PA.
• For her birthday last year, Mitch surprised Leslie with a family trip to Disney World. Her first time visiting!
• About a year into the relationship, Mitch and Leslie realized that they had something unique in common… Leslie had grown up spending her summers in North East, MD. Little did they know, Mitch and his family used to dock their boat at the same marina in which Leslie and her family always watched 4th of July fireworks! As it turns out, the Chesapeake Bay has always been a special place for them.
• The location of the wedding was chosen for this reason.
• The bride and groom met on their first day at Eastern University- in Color Groups (freshmen mixers)… “Teddy Bear Brown”.
• Leslie’s favorite Bible verse is Ephesians 3:20-21.
• Mitch’s favorite Bible verse is Colossians 3:23.
• Leslie’s dress, in itself, is her “something borrowed”. The dress is the same one that was worn by her mom, Julie, at her wedding! After some alterations, lace removal, and a lot of quality time together, Leslie is thrilled to wear her mom’s dress today.
• Mitch shows his love to Leslie by agreeing to watch “The Bachelor” with her.
• It took Leslie over a year after they began dating to say “I love you”.
• One of her favorite things about Mitch is his patience.
• One of the bride and groom’s first goal’s as a married couple is to watch all 8 of the Harry Potter movies before Christmas- they’ve had this planned for over a year now. 
• Now 1,780 days since Nov. 6th, the couple is ecstatic to officially become…

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas

The back of the program had a “thank you” message to all of our guests… we wanted to make sure they knew how much their love and support really meant to us.

In the end, it was a really fun way to share a bit about ourselves with our friends and family and it gave our guests something to do while they waited for the festivities to start. This was another one of those things that we DIYed… all I did was design it in Microsoft Publisher on the computer and then we printed them all on card stock. My mom gets the gold medal, though, because she single-handedly cut, arranged, hole punched, and then tied them together with a bit of twine. Every.single.one. She rocks. 🙂

And that’s it! The tale of our DIY programs… we still have a few left over and it is definitely something we will hold onto forever. That little pack of papers holds some very special memories!